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This was made known by the company’s CFO Chris Liddell in a briefing to Wall Street analysts.
All Posts Tagged Tag: ‘Financial’
The good news, from News Corp’s perspective, is that MySpace is continuing to grow. The bad news is that profiting off social ads is tougher than the corporation had expected.
Even the worst earnings announcements try to spin things in a positive way; it’s necessary to do a little deep-reading to find out what really happened. comScore’s first-quarter earnings just didn’t have any bad components, though, and the company’s stock is up about 20 percent this morning as a result.
TheStreet.com is looking somewhat worse for wear this morning; following its first-quarter earnings report, the company’s stock dropped over 15 percent.
Ann Mather, formerly the CFO at Pixar, will face charges from the Securities & Exchange Commission related to their investigation of stock option backdating at the animation company.
It’s hard to get past Geezeo’s name; the personal finance site sounds like an old Italian man. TheStreet.com, for its part, is largely dominated by lunatic Jim Cramer. But these oddities need to be set aside for a moment, because TheStreet has acquired a sizable stake in Geezeo.
Finance junkies have probably noticed by now; even the fast-paced world of tech news is slow for people who spend all their time hitting "refresh." Still, the existing Google Finance sites have received an overhaul, and Google Finance China has launched.
Yahoo this, Microsoft that – it’s enough to make you move to China. Or at least look at China-centric news, in which Baidu is generating headlines for both succeeding financially and pushing its own version of Wikipedia.
Apple said it shipped 2.2 million Macs in its second fiscal quarter of 2008, increasing sales by 51 percent over the same quarter in 2007.
Globally, Apple sold 856,000 desktops during the quarter, and 1.4 million notebooks-year-to-year increases of 37 percent and 61 percent respectively. The total of 2.29 million Macs was just below the record 2.32 million sold in the last three months of 2007
It’s more than a little ironic, but WebMD isn’t looking too healthy; the company has cut its 2008 financial outlook. On the bright side, there’s a possibility that this is only WebMD’s problem, as opposed to something representative of the online economy.
Sometimes you have to be careful not to too broadly apply the results of a study. In this case, I’m not sure if I can help it. Just call me out (as you often do) in the comments if you think I’ve done so. Two recent studies showed a strong correlation between sex hormones and monetary risks.
And that kind of explains everything. Like…
Companies’ directors don’t do much on a day-to-day basis; their departures don’t, to be honest, cause any real-world cogs to stick. Still, it’s not too encouraging that Philip R. Lochner, Jr. left Monster Worldwide’s board of directors as the company’s stock sat near a 52-week low.
eBay’s stock had a good run yesterday, and it’s off to a decent start this morning, as well. There’s no need for fans or investors to panic, then, even if one of the company’s most important backers is stepping away.
Yahoo’s ballyhooed predictions of reaching $40 per share by 2010 left investors skeptical and desirous of further negotiations with Microsoft.
The market’s doing its best imitation of a healthy Superman this morning – up, up, and all that – but Jupitermedia has been left on the sidelines. Following the corporation’s report on its fourth quarter earnings, Jupitermedia’s stock is acting in a less than heroic fashion.
Disney has made a projected $123 million in sales of video via Apple iTunes.
The estimate comes from comments that Disney CEO Bob Iger made at the Digital Hollywood Media Summit. Iger said Disney has sold 4 million movies and 40 to 50 million videos through iTunes, since it made content available on the service in 2006.
In the olden days, armies often didn’t attack castles so much as sit around them; weeks or months later, the defenders would run out of food and their leaders would have few options other than to surrender. Yahoo may be placing itself in a similar situation in its fight against Microsoft.
Blockbuster reported fourth quarter net income of $41 million, or 18 cents a share for 2007. Compared with $11.2 million, or four cents a share the year before.
Not including charges, per share earnings increased to 26 cents from 11 cents. Revenue grew 3.6 percent to $1.57 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 18 cents per share or revenue of $1.4 billion.
Google’s top executives have been selling their holdings non-stop for almost three and a half years, a trend that ultimately gained some attention from the market.
When people talk about Google Street View, the conversations tend to focus on either privacy or its undeniable "neat" factor. Thanks to Google’s success in other areas, profitability just doesn’t come up. But EveryScape has built its business around similar virtual tours, and the company just raised $7 million in funding.
Google investors are still at the table eating their losses after comScore’s report that paid click revenues were flat in the month of January. Impending recession was the chief suspect among speculators, but nobody finds any real support for that. More astute observers noticed that revenue flattened very soon after webmasters began reporting on decreases in AdSense earnings.
Since the beginning of October, the Dow has dropped nearly 1,400 points. Even Google’s lost its glow. But Salesforce.com just posted fourth quarter financial numbers that beat analysts’ expectations and represent year-over-year increases in almost every way possible.
Research firm the NPD Group has released its U.S. retail sales figures for January 2008.
Software sales for the month were up by 11 percent to $611 million, hardware sales dropped by a quarter to $378 million. Overall the industry was down 6 percent for the month managing to reach $1.18 billion compared to January 2007 sales of $1.25 billion.
Did you hear that the president of East Timor was shot on Monday? Perhaps not, if you stick to American news sources. And it’s this sort of lapse that Philip Balboni tends to address with the creation of Global News Enterprises.
A British cruise operator has paid a record $1.1 million for the domain name cruises.co.uk.
Seamus Conlon company already owned the address cruise.co.uk so the letter "s" proved to be an expensive acquisition. The price breaks the earlier record for a .co.uk domain of $300,000 paid in October last year.
I had my next few purchases all planned out – a nice alarm clock, a new TV, and a big bookcase. Then signs of a recession began to pile on, and setting aside extra mortgage payments started to seem like the better idea. Many companies are thinking similarly.
As someone with no connections to Google’s stock, I’m a fairly impartial observer in this matter. Still, it was fun to write about the stock passing $600, $650, and $700 in rapid succession, and although it’s much lower now, it’s managed something impressive and smile-inducing again.
I know that eMarketer’s numbers on the growth of podcasting should make us all feel warm and fuzzy, but I just can’t shake the feeling that the channel has severely under delivered.
The good news is that US audience numbers should grow from a total audience of 18.5 million in 2007 to a whopping 65 million by 2012. Also good news, the amount spent on podcast advertising should grow from $165 million to $435 million by 2012.
Yahoo hasn’t said much regarding Microsoft’s purchase offer but here are a few of the official statements that are public so far…
From Yahoo Press Release:
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today said that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Microsoft to acquire the Company. The Company said that its Board of Directors will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo!’s strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders.
But what I find interesting is that Bill Gates is out and now Ray Ozzie is roaring. Microsoft has been so damn boring since I left in June of 2006. This shoots the boring in the head.
Why is “Microhoo” not boring?
The acquisition of Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has been something that’s frankly made sense for years. Microsoft has a lot of strengths, but it just hasn’t been able to crack the nut of content creation (does it even own a property that has any meaningful content prior to this acquisition?), particularly the semi-mythic user-generated content, and its attempts at competing with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) in the advertising space have also proven disappointing.
Last Autumn it was obvious that Yahoo stock was seriously undervalued by comparison to Google, Amazon, and other major internet companies.
However, not only did I not have an investment portfolio, but the promise of the stock markets tanking made it a bad time to set up a portfolio in the first place.
Once the storm was over, I planned to then start some form of investment portfolio, probably tied to a SIPP for retirement within my business, and focus about 50% in YHOO stock.


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Sept. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. food giant Kraft Heinz said Tuesday it will cut costs by $2 billion and seek to increase sales under a five-year turnaround plan.
Kraft Heinz, maker of the Heinz ketchup and mustard brands and Oscar Meyer, said it plans to accomplish the goals with a new operating model focused on procurement, manufacturing and logistics.
"I am extremely confident that unlocking the power of scale with agility, combined with our new operating model, will return Kraft Heinz to consistent and sustainable growth," CEO Miguel Patricio said in a statement.
The strategy involves making "growth investments" including a 30% increase in marketing spending. Patricio said the moves will create "a clear path to rebuilding" Kraft Heinz into an industry leader.
Organic net sales are targeted for growth of between 1% and 2% under the plan.
Costs were also cut by $2 billion following the merger of H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods in 2015, but the combined company struggled to grow sales of its long-running food brands in an era of changing tastes. The downturn resulted in billions in losses for many of its brands, like Maxwell House.
A leadership shake-up last year saw Patricio succeed Bernardo Hees as CEO after he'd been chief marketing officer for Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Kraft Heinz has seen an increase in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic among "comfort staples" like macaroni and cheese. The company said it expects an increase in third-quarter sales.

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Over a year ago, Nike refused to let the Worker Rights Consortium, a third party monitoring organization meant to protect workers’ rights, into their Vietnam factory Hansae, after reports of over-exhaustion, overheating, and abuse from management. This sparked a series of student protests on Georgetown’s campus led by the Georgetown Solidarity Committee and Athletes and Advocates for Workers Rights, resulting in student athletes taping over the Nike logos on their university-issued equipment.
Although President John DeGioia accepted private recommendations last year from the Licensing and Oversight Committee (LOC), a group comprised of students, faculty, and administrators to advise the school on the use of its brand, Georgetown and Nike have continued negotiations for months. Isabelle Teare (COL ’18), a member of the LOC, has been active in the Nike issue since it came to students’ attention. For Teare, continued negotiations are a bad sign.
“The only thing that these negotiations could mean is special treatment, loopholes, trying to find ways that Nike can maybe sign our code of conduct but still not allow independent monitoring,” Teare said. “That’s what we’re worried about.”
The LOC is supposed to advise the administration in negotiations on use of Georgetown’s logo, but in this case, Teare says they have been severely limited.
“Even this committee has no idea how negotiations are going. We’re not being told,” Teare said. “On top of that, [the LOC] isn’t granted access to see the contract in this whole scheme. I think that’s a huge problem.”
Cal Watson (COL ’07, LAW ’14) is a faculty chair for the LOC who has worked with students on the Nike issue, and acts as a liaison between administrators and students as the negotiations progress.
“We are in ongoing discussions with Nike regarding the status of its license with Georgetown,” Watson wrote in an email to the Voice. “We have communicated to Nike our commitment to the Code of Conduct for Georgetown University Licensees, which protects the rights of workers producing University-licensed apparel.”
To the average Georgetown student, non-renewal would mean no more Nike- brand Hoya apparel. However, renewing the Nike contract would mean maintaining a relationship with a company that does not allow third party monitoring of their factories, with a company accused of human rights abuses and of using sweatshop labor. It would mean maintaining a relationship that Teare nds unacceptable.
“It’s easy for the university to sit there and be like, ‘yeah, we’re in negotiations,’ but it’s been eight months,” Teare said. “It isn’t easy for the person over there whose life depends on the negotiations. This truly is a life or death issue. I think the university is being incredibly irresponsible by not taking this more seriously.”
The issue extends far beyond Georgetown, as many schools throughout the country have sponsorship contracts with Nike. “Many schools are looking to Georgetown to see what we do,” Teare said. “It’s either going to keep us moving forward in the right track of worker justice, or, if Georgetown doesn’t stand by its word and do the right thing, what that does is sends us 20 years backwards.”
That’s why Angeles Solís is advocating for Georgetown to drop the contract and set an example for other Nike affiliated schools. Solís is the international campaigns organizer for United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and believes Georgetown has both an opportunity and a responsibility to drop the Nike contract.
“Brands care a lot about producing university apparel because of the brand recognition and profit it brings,” Solís said. “At a critical time like this, when Nike is trying to turn back the clock on basic labor compliance, we need universities like Georgetown to once again give Nike an ultimatum and force them to respect the rights of its workers.”
According to Solís, movements for social justice often begin with student protests. “Oftentimes, students are steps ahead of their administration in the global ght for justice,” Solís said. “Students everywhere are ghting for an education so that they can go forth and change the world—but it can be done right here, right now, on your campus.”
In addition to the major publicity Georgetown would generate by declining to renew the contract, Teare highlights the significance of Georgetown’s unique position and history.
“We are a name brand school,” Teare said. “We are located in the nation’s capital, and on top of that, we have this history of being leaders on social issues through our Jesuit values.”
In 2012, students protested the university’s relationship with Adidas, another athletics company found to be committing labor violations. The university terminated its Adidas contract in early 2013. Five years earlier, Georgetown broke with Russell Athletics for similar reasons. That’s why Solís believes it is time to cut ties with Nike in the same way.
“The best way for us to truly be in solidarity with the workers producing Nike Hoya apparel would be to give Nike an ultimatum: compel your supplier factories to allow independent labor monitoring by the Worker Rights Consortium, or lose the right to make our apparel,” Solís said. “In order to support these workers, we have to hold multinational brands like Nike to a higher standard, and it is one Nike is failing to meet.”
With the university still in negotiations and the LOC unable to access or share information about the negotiations with the student body, Teare says the responsibility for change falls to the students.
“If none of the students cared about this on campus, the administration would sweep it under the rug” Teare said. “The thing that powers Georgetown is the students.” Solís advises student movements around the world, and at this juncture, she asserts the power students have to define how their universities behave. “Students have played a critical role in many historic movements in the U.S. and around the world, including the anti-sweatshop movement,” Solís said. “Students organizing on their campuses across the country have led to historic victories alongside garment workers and improved thousands of lives.”
That’s what student activists at Georgetown are trying to accomplish. “Students will protest,” Teare said. “Students will hold actions. We care about this.” As the Nike licensing contract’s expiration date, Dec. 31, draws closer by the day, Teare is clear on what student activists want. “We want DeGioia to uphold his promise,” Teare said. “If they don’t sign, they don’t work with us.”


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Following on from Sony’s recent announcement of tape that is capable of storing 148GB per square inch, the two companies have revealed that they have managed to reach 154GB.
Although that figure isn’t a huge jump, IBM and Fujitu’s announcement comes with an impressive forecast. The alliance believes it can double the density of its tape every other year for the next decade.
Although innovations involving magnetic tape seem like something from a post-modern vision of 2014 viewed from 1965, the speed at which technology is moving in this field is accelerating at a rate more in line with demand.
Data centres are having to come up with more ingenious methods of cold storing petabytes of data being generated from social media, cloud storage and archiving.
Facebook has dabbled in the concept of the Blu-ray array as a temporary solution to the problem, while the SSD manufacturers continue to make strides in increasing the capacity of their products, but neither are likely to be as cost effective as magnetic tape. It isn’t suitable for quick access, and its longevity and durability is yet to be tested, but it could prove to be a solution for a growing problem.
The 154GB/in tape is only a prototype, but if the hype is to be believed, we can expect to see 4TB per square inch by 2024. This month, Sandisk released the first 4TB SSD in a standard 2.5in casing. The rest of the math follows from that.
Seagate has unveiled what it says is the world’s fastest hard drive, the Enterprise Turbo SSHD.
In what Seagate claims is the industry’s first enterprise solid-state hybrid disk (SSHD) drive, the Enterprise Turbo SSHD combines the capacity of a hard drive with solid-state flash enabling high-speed performance for “mission critical data”.
Seagate said the drive is the fastest storage device around due to its triple increase in random read performance over existing 15,000RPM drives. It will be available in up to 600GB capacities.
“By unifying the best of solid-state and magnetic technologies, Turbo improves tiered storage performance combining accelerated speed with hard disk drive (HDD) high capacity,” Seagate said in a statement.
“The result, a combination of performance and capacity that we believe represents a new paradigm shift for mission critical, enterprise storage.”
The drive fine tunes storage tiering by caching at the I/O level in an attempt to patch performance gaps and bottlenecks often found in tiered system environments. It also offers a self-encrypting drive option to maximize security for data at rest.
Seagate said that enterprise vendor IBM has been testing the device over the past year in the runup to launch,
“After months of testing in Seagate and IBM labs, the first enterprise SSHD has been introduced as an option for the IBM Series x servers,” the firm announced.
Seagate said that these performance tests using standard system benchmarking tools showed that a 10,000RPM version of enterprise SSHD delivers input/output operations per second (IOPS) at double the speed of a standard 600GB 10,000RPM hard disk drive.
“The end result is much improved and more cost effective performance for servers running mission critical applications such as big data analytics, virtual desktop infrastructure, and database and transaction processing,” Seagate said.
The storage firm is aiming the drive at OEMs and system builders that demand high performance for a more affordable price point as they push to offer lower cost server and storage configurations.
Seagate has announced what it claims is the “industry’s first” 4TB video hard disk drive, that is, a 3.5in HDD that is engineered specifically for use in video applications such as digital video recorders (DVRs), set-top boxes (STBs) and surveillance systems.
“Purpose-built for video solutions, the Video 3.5 HDD can store up to 480 hours of HD content making it the industry’s highest-capacity drive designed specifically for video,” the firm said.
When we asked how the hard drive is engineered for video applications and is not just a bog standard hard disk drive, Seagate explained that the hard drive supports up to 16 HD video streams or 20 standard definition video streams simultaneously, as well as having 24×7 operation capabilities.
To clarify what exactly this means, we asked Seagate to explain how the video hard drive differs from a desktop hard drive. A Seagate spokesperson said that the video hard drive is built for DVR like applications that run 24 hours a day seven days a week in warmer environments, such as a DVR inside an entertainment center, with support for profiles to ensure continuous smooth delivery of video content.
“They’re built to support an ATA-8AV command set which means they’re optimised for streaming, meaning we can support 30 percent more HD streams on this drive than on a laptop drive,” Seagate explained.
“ATA commands are also paired with command completion times that are optimised for video so if your drive has corrupt data, which likely is a single pixel on one frame of your screen, the drive knows to skip over it rather than go back to correct or rebuild that data which would cause your video to pause while this happens.”
The video drive has also been built for low power consumption and heat emission so device designers and manufacturers can build the drive into designs more flexibly. It also offers “superior acoustic management” to limit audible distractions during operation of DVRs and STBs, so designers can build nearly silent home entertainment systems.
“Boasting near silent acoustics, the drive operates below the range of audible sound for the human ear at just 2.3 decibels providing optimised acoustics for home entertainment components, crucial for consumer electronics and video applications,” the firm added.
4TB of data is capable of storing around 100 full length DVD quality movies. Compressed movies take up much less space, with the drive being able to store around 4,000 lower quality films. For movies that have been condensed into the popular HD compression format Matroska video (MKV) at HD 720p, the drive can store around 1,000 two-hour movies, or 120,000 minutes of video, making it idea for storing all your favourite episodes of cheesy American TV shows such as Gossip Girl or 90210.
Seagate hasn’t yet announced a release date or pricing for its 4TB video hard disk drive.
Seagate, which recently completed the acquisition of Samsung’s hard disk unit and swiftly cut warranties on most of its drives to just one year, has now announced that it will buy hard drive packager Lacie. Seagate has signed an agreement with Philippe Spruch, Lacie’s chairman and CEO, to purchase his 63.5 percent stake in the company at $7.05 per share in cash, which values the firm at $186m.
According to Seagate the purchase should help the firm grow in Europe and Japan. The firm also announced that Spruch will be employed by Seagate and run its consumer products division.
Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman, CEO and president said, “Lacie has built an exceptional consumer brand by delivering exciting and innovative high end products for many years. This transaction would bring a highly complementary set of capabilities to Seagate, significantly expand our consumer product offerings, add a premium branded direct attached storage line, strengthen our network-attached storage business line and enhance our capabilities in software development.”
Lacie’s fancy portable hard drives are popular among those who like fancy cases wrapped around bog-standard consumer hard disks. Seagate’s purchase of Lacie should see the firm not only become the sole supplier of hard drives in Lacie products but make a renewed push in the consumer portable hard drive market following last year’s floods in Thailand that affected the three big hard drive manufacturers.
Seagate said the deal should be completed by the third quarter of 2012 pending regulatory approval in the US, France and Germany.
Need a thin and speedy external drive to go along with your shiny new ultrabook? Seagate’s got you covered with a new 500GB FreeAgent GoFlex Slim drive.
Yes, the name is too long, but the spec sheet is pretty impressive, too. The new drive features USB 3.0 and unlike most external 2.5-inch drives it is a 7200rpm unit. The new 500GB unit has yet to hit retail, with a $135 price tag, but if you can’t wait last year’s 320GB drive is on sale for about $90.
The drive measures 124x78x9mm and weighs 160g, but we’re not sure about the design. It won’t match most ultrabooks on the market, and since ultrabooks are aimed at fashion conscious consumers, this could be an issue.
First of all the 4TB GoFlex is an external 3.5-inch drive, naked desktop variants will follow soon. Secondly, the drive is only available through www.seagate.com, but a few lucky retailers will have it in stock shortly. The price stands at $249, which sounds fair.
On the tech side of things, the drive is pretty much your regular run of the mill 3.5-inch external drive. It supports USB 3.0, which seems like a good idea given the immense capacity, but there is no eSATA on board.


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Dec 19, 2017 - Chinese chipmakers’ threat limited; iPhone X production volume 65mn units until 1Q18.Chinese Android phone makers to introduce 3D sensing technologies in 2018.In order of preference: Samsung, SEMCO, I
Jan 19, 2018 - World Asset Management Inc Buys Aptiv PLC, Xcel Energy Inc, Eversource Energy, Sells C.R. Bard Inc, Delphi Technologies PLC, Vale SA, Stocks: VALE,ITOT,CTL,PBA,CHU,EQT,XEL,APTV,ES,PFG,WPP,WPP,, release date:Jan 19, 2018
Nov 30, 2017 - Though Nokia (NOK) has denied its interest in Juniper, the former has been quite active on the acquisition front over the past few years.
Jan 29, 2018 - Risk-Reward With China Mobile, Stocks: CHL,CHU,CHA,AAPL,BRK.A, release date:Jan 29, 2018


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A new J.D. Power study shows a decline in Tesla owner satisfaction, but an increase for other EVs.
The annual J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) study measures customer satisfaction for the first 90 days of ownership, based on a survey covering 37 vehicle attributes. With a score of 878 out of 1,000 points, Tesla remains one of the highest-ranked brands, and outperformed other brands in some attributes, but that score is down nine points from a year ago, when Tesla was first included in the study.
The overall picture for EVs was more positive. Excluding Tesla, the score for EVs was 840 points, which is a two-point increase year-over-year, even as the industry as a whole saw a consecutive year-over-year decline in owner satisfaction for the first time in the 28-year history of the APEAL study. The industry-wide satisfaction score was 845—two points lower than 2022 and three points lower than 2021.
2022 BMW i4 M50
EVs are also closing the gap with gasoline cars. The average score for gasoline cars was 843 points, just three points higher than EVs and tied with plug-in hybrids. Among individual models, the BMW i4 was also runner-up in the Compact Premium Car category, behind the Lexus IS.
Some EV models appear to have lost some ground to gas models in the rankings, however. The Mercedes-Benz EQS and Kia EV6 topped gasoline vehicles in their respective categories in the 2022 APEAL study, but didn't repeat that this year. The i4 was the only EV in the top three of any model category.
2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS
This study also doesn't cover the service experience. Another J.D. Power study published earlier this year found EV owners were less satisfied with dealership service than owners of gasoline cars.
As J.D. Power has emphasized before, most first-time EV owners are very satisfied with the EV ownership experience, and those who buy an EV are likely to get an EV again, even if their satisfaction diminishes from that first impression. The studies suggest those Tesla owners might be less giddy about the experience, but they sure aren't looking back.


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In the month of January, the country’s total exports grew by about 37 percent. Total imports increased by 30 percent. There has been a decline in the trade deficit.
Overall exports stood at $61.41 billion.
in january India’s exports ,India Export) registered an increase of about 37 percent. Overall exports stood at $61.41 billion in January. This is inclusive of India’s merchandise and service exports. It registered a growth of 36.76 percent on a yearly basis. Total exports stood at $44.90 billion in January 2021. It has registered an increase of 38.90 percent as compared to January 2020. Total exports stood at $44.21 billion in January 2020. In January Merchandise and service import ,India Import) stood at $67.76 billion. There is a rise of 30.54 percent in comparison to January 2021 and a jump of 30.19 percent compared to January 2020. Total imports are $51.91 billion in January 2021 and $52.05 billion in January 2020. Total in January 2020 trade deficit ,Trade Deficit) was $ 6.35 billion, which was $ 7 billion in January 2021 and $ 7.83 billion in January 2020.
Talking about merchandise exports, in January, the total exports stood at $ 34.50 billion and imports were $ 51.93 billion. Thus the merchandise trade deficit stood at $17.42 billion. This deficit stood at $14.49 billion in January 2021 and $15.30 billion in January 2020. In January 2021, merchandise exports stood at $27.54 billion and imports were $42.03 billion.
Service export and import data
Talking about service imports and exports, in January, service exports stood at $ 26.91 billion, imports were $ 15.83 billion. Thus the service trade surplus stood at $11.07 billion. In January 2021, service exports stood at $ 17.37 billion and imports were $ 9.88 billion. Net service surplus stood at $7.49 billion. In January 2020, this export was $ 18.36 billion and import was $ 10.90 billion. Net service surplus stood at $7.46 billion.
This news is being written right nowâ€¦


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There are always the latest developments in technology around us. Admit it, we all need technology in our life. We need technology to run our lives. Be it about work, school, daily activities, we need technology so that they can run smoothly. After all, the simple definition of technology is to make our life easier. Now, technology can be many things including games. Who does not like playing games? Even elders love to play some games on their smartphone. If you are wondering what is the latest development in technology in 2019, keep on reading this article. We will be discussing Snapchat opening a gaming platform.
Things You Need to Know about Snapchat
Everyone sure knows about Snapchat, right? Snapchat is a part of Snap Inc which provides its users with a short message and funny filters features. However, since Instagram make its appearance, Snapchat has been struggling to come back to life. Most of the people now, especially teenagers are moving onto Instagram to post their lives and stories. Not only that, but celebrities are also beginning to move to Instagram to do endorsements and business. No wonder if Snapchat then begins to struggle because it has to compete with Instagram. Wanting to beat Instagram, Snapchat decides to redesign their app last year. Unfortunately, instead of winning, the redesigned app became controversial and alienate some of the users and advertisements. However, it is reported that Snap Inc will announce its gaming platform for developers as their latest developments in technology.
The Latest Technology Development from Snapchat
It is reported that Snap Inc will plan to announce their gaming platform next month. Snap Inc named the gaming platform as “Project Cognac”. This platform will feature tons of games from outside developers to work specifically in the Snapchat app. The gaming platform will be announced and unveiled in Snap’s summit for contents developers partner in Los Angeles on 4th April 2019. It is also reported that Snap Inc has begun to work their gaming platform in June 2018. It is unclear why at that moment, Snap Inc refuse to give their comment. Instead, Snap Inc decide to announce their new development on next month.
Those are the latest developments in technology from Snapchat. We will have to wait next month to see the gaming platform from Snapchat. Will Snapchat rise to the top again? Or will Snapchat will fail? No one will know.


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Disposal Ban: As of January 1, 2015, shoppers may not get rid of sure kinds of digital tools in landfills, waste-to-power services, within the trash, or at curbside for trash pickup. Following intensive testing and profitable pilots at 10 airports, TSA plans to increase these measures to all U.S. airports throughout the weeks and months ahead. There are additionally cell phone accessories, including circumstances, headsets, chargers, Bluetooth gadgets, car mounts and more. The fantastic saga of electronics miniaturization that has yielded ever more computing energy at ever-decrease unit costs—represented by the famed Moore’s Law (named after Intel’s co-founder Gordon Moore)—has all the time been destined to come across the constraints of each physics and economics.
Many versatile electronic units depend on polymers. For instance, Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 10, makes intensive use of haptic options that require an iPhone 6s—a device released simply final 12 months. Current on the Monteblanco circuit in Spain this week, Bike News are reporting Leon Camier and the Crimson Bull Honda World Superbike Team have been out on observe testing Magneti Marelli electronics, which they are hoping to change to when the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returns to Europe in April.
Electronics have all the time produced waste, but the amount and velocity of discard has elevated quickly in recent years. TechMatte’s amFilm is the perfect glass screen protector for iPhone 8, 7, 6s, and 6 fashions, protecting just in addition to opponents that cost 10 times as a lot. Getting Started with Adafruit FLORA: Learn how to plan your wearable circuits, sew with electronics, and write packages that run on the FLORA to manage the electronics.
As electronics turn into more and more pervasive in our lives – from smart telephones to wearable sensors – so too does the ever rising quantity of electronic waste they create. This system will divert hundreds of tonnes of electronic gadgets and gear from the province’s landfills. The Division of Homeland Safety, which oversees the TSA, did not have a very good reply on phablets again in March when it introduced a ban on carry-on laptops and tablets on direct flights from eight Muslim-majority countries.
Last month, TSA began testing the usage of a new baggage-scanning technology that can look via luggage for bombs and weapons and create a THREE-D image of the bag’s contents. As beforehand talked about, producers could offer data safety providers as part of the digital waste acceptance program, and should charge a fee for this kind of ” premium service “.


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New Delhi, Jan 10: Giving a big relief to the MSME sector and small traders, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Thursday increased the limit of annual turnover for availing the composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore from existing Rs 1 crore.
The scheme would come into effect from new financial year April 1, 2019, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters. He was briefing media about the decisions of the 32nd GST Council meet.
Jaitley said special category states would take decision about the composition limit in their respective states within one week.
He said under the composition scheme, traders would now need to file only single annual return though payment of taxes would remain quarterly along with a simple declaration.
The Council also raised the bar of threshold limit for exemption from registration and payment of the GST to Rs 40 lakh from existing Rs 20 lakh while the limit for NorthEast and hilly states was hiked to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
Jaitley said, “Like previous option this time too, Northeast and hilly states will have an opportunity to decide about their limits. They have options to either move up or move down. They have to decide about one of the limits within a week.”
He said the threshold for registration for service providers would continue to be Rs 20 lakh and in case of special category states Rs 10 lakh.
A composition scheme, he said, would also be available for suppliers of services who have annual turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh in the preceding financial year. Under the scheme, the service suppliers would give 6 per cent tax – 3 per cent CGST and 3 per cent SGST.
The scheme would be applicable to both service providers and suppliers of goods and services who are not eligible for the presently available composition scheme for goods. (UNI)


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Average earnings of employees by industry in Alberta
Earnings grew faster than inflation in 11 out of 20 industries
By Rob Roach, ATB Economics 3 November 2021 1 min read
Monday’s Owl pointed out the gap that has formed between earnings and inflation in Alberta: as of August, seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings in the province were 6.6% higher than they were in January 2019 compared to a 7.5% jump in the Consumer Price Index.
Today’s Owl drills down a bit deeper and looks at how the earnings of workers in different industries have changed over the same period.
The first thing you notice is that earnings growth has not been even across industries. Seven out of the 20 main industrial sectors saw earnings growth of more than 10% between January 2019 and August 2021 while 6 have posted growth below 5%, including 2 sectors in negative territory (see the chart below).
Compared to the inflation rate, the earnings in 11 out of 20 sectors were above the 7.5% increase in prices with the other 9 sectors not keeping up.
Earnings growth is, of course, only part of the equation as it also matters where you start. For example, while average earnings have increased by 12.1% in the accommodation and food services sector since the start of 2019, they remain the lowest of any sector at $516 per week.
Answer to the previous trivia question: Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide.
Today’s trivia question: Which industry has more employees in Alberta: health care and social assistance or retail?


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- Amanda C. Coyne The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A pair of Fulton County siblings are suing the city of Lawrenceville and a Lawrenceville Police Department detective, claiming they were charged with credit card fraud while the actual culprits went on a $42,000 spending spree across at least 9 counties.
Sandra Green and Jerome Green claim they were charged with making fraudulent purchases in Sandra Green’s name with “no arguable probable cause.” They are suing Lawrenceville for unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution and municipal liabilities, and Det. John W. Anderson for malicious prosecution, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Sandra Green, then a Georgia Military College student living in Palmetto, left her purse at a Union City Wal-Mart in November 2011. The bag was stolen, along with her state ID card, checkbook, Social Security card, debit card and other sensitive documents, all of which were inside, according the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
By December, Sandra Green’s information had been used in fraudulent purchases at a liquor store, Toys R Us, HHGregg and Stein Mart. The thieves also rented a U-Haul with Sandra Green’s information and did not return it, the lawsuit said.
In the following months, the thieves used Sandra Green’s debit card and personal information to buy at least $42,000 in motorcycles, four-wheelers, home appliances and landscaping equipment, all hauled away in the stolen truck.
Sandra Green became inundated with calls from creditors and debt collectors and filed multiple police reports about her stolen purse and the fraudulent purchases in her name, the suit said.
The pair that would eventually plead guilty to fraud charges in multiple Georgia counties, Ashley Hughley and Marcus Ferguson, continued racking up bills, with some purchases more than $18,000, while Sandra Green and Jerome Green were being prosecuted in Lawrenceville.
Anderson began investigating the fraudulent purchases in April 2012 after Hughley and Ferguson used Sandra Green’s information at two Lawrenceville stores, the lawsuit said.
The suit claims Anderson only had the fraudulent sales and Sandra Green’s name to go on and had no experience investigating credit card fraud; the Lawrenceville Police Department was not named as a defendant in the suit but said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The Lawrenceville suspects were described as a 5-foot-8-inch woman between 35 and 40 years old with a short afro and a 6-foot man between 30 and 45 years old. Sandra Green was 23 at the time, standing at 5 feet, 3 inches with long, straight hair, according to the lawsuit. Her brother, Jerome, was 26. The lawsuit does not specify his height.
Weeks later, in early May, Anderson allegedly included photos of Sandra Green and Jerome Green in a lineup presented to the owner of one of the defrauded stores. The lawsuit alleges Anderson strongly suggested that the suspects were brother and sister and used “manipulative or suggestive techniques” to lead the man to pick out Sandra and Jerome Green.
Anderson wrote warrants for Sandra and Jerome Green’s arrests on financial transaction card fraud on May 4. When Fulton County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to arrest Sandra Green, she explained to them that she was a victim of identity theft and showed the deputies copies of the police reports she had filed, the lawsuit says. The deputies left her home without arresting her because they had “serious doubts about the validity of the allegations of the arrest warrant affidavit,” according to the suit.
Sandra Green met with Anderson on May 24 and told him that she was with a math tutor and her brother was at work at a Coca-Cola facility while the Lawrenceville incidents took place. The day after that meeting, Ferguson was arrested in Oxford, Alabama, for identity theft using another man’s name. Shortly after, detectives in Cherokee and Douglas counties wrote warrants for Ferguson’s arrest on charges related to fraudulent purchases in Sandra Green’s name. Sandra Green was arrested on fraud charges on June 22, 2012 and Jerome Green was arrested on the same charges on Aug. 18, 2012.
Ferguson was sentenced to three years in prison and Hughley was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2012 after convictions in Cobb County, and also pleaded guilty to charges in Cherokee and Douglas counties. The Lawrenceville charges against Sandra and Jerome Green weren’t dropped until nearly three years after Hughley’s and Ferguson’s guilty pleas.
Anderson is still employed with the Lawrenceville Police Department, assigned to special operations as a motorcycle officer.


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£16.9m of x billions 11.10.11
Financial Fraud Action announces:
Total fraud losses on UK cards fell to £169.8 million between January and June 2011 – a 9 per cent reduction compared with losses in the first half of 2010. (…)
Online banking fraud losses totalled £16.9 million during January to June 2011 – a 32 per cent fall on the 2010 half-year figure. (…)
The NFA estimated that fraud in all its guises costs the UK more than £38 billion a year – card and banking fraud accounts for only 1.2 per cent of this figure.
Not that doomed after all?
The criminals have new targets these days, the officials said. Increasingly, they are targeting sectors like retail and hospitality, instead of simply focusing on financial institutions, Martinez said. “Why hack into Citibank and steal 10 million pieces of information when you could hack into restaurants and get the same information and not have a big target, a bulls-eye, on your back?”


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Standard Chartered and Allinpay enable real-time cross-border payments via QR code
Standard Chartered Bank (“the Bank”) and Allinpay Merchants Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd, part of Allinpay International Group (“Allinpay”), announced today their partnership to enable Allinpay merchants in Hong Kong to accept PayNow instant payments in Singapore dollars via QR code. This is the first such solution delivered by a bank and a payment fintech to advance cross-border QR payments in Hong Kong.
Allinpay serves a merchant network of more than 30,000 acceptance points in Hong Kong, offering comprehensive integrated payment solutions including international credit and payment cards, and e-wallets such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
This latest collaboration will enable Allinpay’s participating merchants in Hong Kong to now accept Singapore PayNow QR payments (both online and at the merchant premises), without the need for any additional technological investment, infrastructure integration or operational changes. Furthermore, this solution unlocks the potential for merchants in Hong Kong to generate incremental revenues from Singapore travellers, with the resumption of normal travel as COVID restrictions ease.
Tay Tiong Hean, General Manager, Allinpay Merchants Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd said: “It is timely to spearhead PayNow QR payments at Hong Kong merchants with the resumption of travel. We are confident that this partnership will offer a real-time and seamless digital payment experience through Allinpay’s integrated platform to truly meet our customers’ needs for better cross-border payments, cost savings and mobile lifestyle.”
This solution is made possible with Standard Chartered’s proprietary solutions including its omnichannel gateway “Straight2Bank Pay” and API-based FX pricing engine “SCALE”.
Ankur Kanwar, Head of Cash Products, Singapore and ASEAN, Standard Chartered Bank said, “Standard Chartered is thrilled to partner Allinpay and bring this collaboration to life. By achieving this crucial milestone to accelerate the greater use of contactless cross- border payments, we’re laying the tracks for a whole new digital world of transactions. With capabilities to access over 20 instant payments infrastructures globally, we look forward to extending this solution to more markets in the future, enabling our fintech partners to deliver a fast and frictionless experience to their merchants and boost the tourism economy.”
Singapore PayNow users can pay their Hong Kong dollar (HKD) purchases instantly in the Singapore dollar (SGD) equivalent amount via PayNow QR code. The SGD-HKD exchange rate is fetched real-time and displayed at the point-of-sale device upon checkout. Once users scan the QR code and execute the SGD-equivalent payments, the funds will be deducted from the user’s SGD bank account in Singapore immediately to complete the transaction.
This solution brings benefits to both customers and merchants. Singapore travellers can now make cashless purchases at participating merchants in Hong Kong, and have the visibility of the exact amount paid in SGD while enjoying savings in FX conversion and administration fees. Hong Kong merchants which accept PayNow payments will not be subjected to credit card transaction charges and get to reduce their cash handling costs.
- US blockchain company, Constellation Network, Welcomes Leading Experts from Top Enterprises and U.S. Government Agencies to their Enterprise Advisory Board. Read more
- JustPaid, AI-powered Finance Startup, To Launch Game-Changing GPT App In OpenAI’S GPT Store Read more
- Eltropy Collaborates with Jack Henry’s Banno Digital Banking Platform Read more
- Ledger partners with bolt to launch device protection for its industry-leading secure devices Read more
- Nigeria: African Development Bank and FSDH Merchant Bank sign $20 million Trade Finance Agreement to support Small and Midsize Enterprises (SMEs) and Corporates Read more


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The Federal Trade Commission has warned advertisers against deceptive practices involving social media, regardless of the space limitations of media such as Twitter to make disclosures. "Advertisers should make sure their disclosures are clear and conspicuous on all devices and platforms that consumers may use to view their ads," FTC's Lesley Fair wrote in a blog post accompanying a new set of guidelines.
FTC guidelines say new-media ads should stick to old rules
SmartBrief Job Listings for Media
|Senior Regional Interactive Sales Manager||
|Sales Executive, CafeMom.com and MamásLatinas.com||
|New York, NY|
|Marketing Services Director||
Farm Journal Media
|Director, Revenue Operations - Technical Program Management||
Pandora Media, Inc.
|Product Marketing Manager||
|San Francisco, CA|


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The new version has arcade specific features.
The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
LBE can be fairly expansive, not with Virtuix's latest endeavour.
It'll happen later this month.
Both of the studios previous two VR releases will be available on the platform.
VRFocus caught up with the South Korean studio to learn more about its VR plans.
Shauna Heller, President, North America of AiSolve Limited talks about the WePlay VR platform.
Kevin Williams returns to give use his updated on the LBE industry.
There are escape rooms, PvP shooters and more.
The UK group will produce three exclusive VR experiences.


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Rewarder Taps the Crowd of Amateur Detectives and Problem Solvers
The San Francisco startup Rewarder scored one of its first investors through a unique move: it found the venture firm director a replacement part for his vintage BMW motorcycle.
It wasn’t just an oddball favor. The successful quest for the rare bike part was a demonstration of Rewarder’s core mission, says co-founder and CEO Kendall Fargo. The new social marketplace helps people solve problems by connecting them with someone in the world who knows the answer, says Fargo, a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in e-commerce.
“If we could map the world’s expertise, we could solve people’s problems so much better,’’ says Fargo. Members of his network offer money rewards for advice, referrals, or even a bit of sleuthing—from finding a lost pet to finding a dad not seen for 10 years.
One of Fargo’s Facebook connections, Chris Hollenbeck of Granite Ventures, noticed some of the first bounties offered when Rewarder was still in private beta testing. Hollenbeck asked if he could use the fledgling network to start a hunt for his elusive BMW motorcycle part, the fuel injection controller for a 1990 BMW K75S. He offered a $100 reward.
Within two days a student had located the part in Los Angeles, Fargo says. “Another guy knew where to get the part in Poland,’’ he says.
Granite Ventures and Radar Partners led a Series A funding round for Rewarder that netted $7 million from VC firms and angel investors. Rewarder announced the financing this month as it launched a public version of the Pinterest-style social networking site. Hollenbeck joined Rewarder’s board of directors, which also includes investor Eric Hahn, founding partner of the Inventures Group of Palo Alto, CA; Doug Mackenzie, a cofounder of Radar Partners; and private investor Trevor Traina.
Fargo says Rewarder had already attracted 100,000 members and a total of $10 million in reward offerings while it was still in the private testing stage that began in the summer of 2011.
Members have offered rewards as small as $2 (for a pomegranate sauce recipe) and as big as $100,000 (to find a buyer for a development in the US Virgin Islands). The largest reward won so far was $10,000, for helping a moving company expand nationwide by finding an investor willing to pay $100,000 for a half-ownership in the firm, according to the Rewarder CEO.
Still unclaimed, though, is a $2,000 bounty for locating the Death Eater costume designed for the elegant villain Lucius Malfoy of the Harry Potter movies.
Rewarder’s revenues come from a 15 percent service fee. This is subtracted from the reward before the money is passed along to the winner. For example: A member offers $100 to anyone who can find his stolen antique garden gate, and another member finds the gate for a sale at a boutique two states away. The gate’s real owner pays $100 to Rewarder, which pays the successful sleuth $85 after subtracting its fee.
In most cases, the user who posted the offer chooses a single winner, and provides feedback to the rest of those who responded.
Those who offer bounties must pay Rewarder a deposit of as much as $25 in advance. If the total reward offered is more than $25, the remaining amount is charged when the winner is chosen.
Fargo sees the network as a place to get a little money into the hands of non-official experts such as students, stay-at-home mothers, and people who don’t like their jobs but are passionate about their hobbies.
“We believe everyone has knowledge and expertise that has value to someone else,’’ Fargo says.
Visitors to the Rewarder site must become members to offer rewards or propose solutions. They’re encouraged to join through Facebook and create detailed profiles listing their areas of interest. Through an “ever-evolving algorithm,’’ Rewarder alerts members by email about rewards they might be able to earn. It also tracks the online behavior of members, giving them a reputational ranking.
“It’s our highest priority to make sure it’s a trustworthy community,’’ Fargo says.
Fargo’s entire career has been devoted to e-commerce, beginning in 1994 when the Internet was just developing, and social networking wasn’t even on the horizon. After helping to develop a series of startups, Kendall founded StepUp Commerce, which figured out a way to extract inventory data from local merchants’ bookkeeping reports so it could help them sell merchandise online. Intuit bought StepUp in 2006, hired Fargo, and made StepUp into part of its QuickBooks product.
Fargo left Intuit in 2008, but he and his former Intuit colleague Graham Rasmussen kept in touch. Rasmussen took a job at Localyte, where he helped travelers find services at their destinations. Fargo and Rasmussen started to speculate about the next evolution of online commerce. Their plan for Rewarder emerged by early 2011.
“I really believed commerce could be much more personal,’’ Fargo says.
The rise of social networking created the needed framework, because people are now comfortable with sharing their personal interests and passions, Fargo says. With Rewarder, they reap answers to their problems only to the extent that they share their requests on Facebook, Twitter, and other networks. They can also help their friends earn a little money by alerting them to other members’ reward offerings, Fargo says.
Rewarder not only allows members to seek expertise, but also permits people with skills to ask for help finding customers. For example, independent music teachers offer small fees to Rewarder members who identify students who then sign up for instruction. Entrepreneurs can receive multiple referrals by creating an “ongoing reward’’ that stays active even after one or more winners have been paid.
Fargo sees Rewarder as quite different from TaskRabbit, a growing crowdsourced services company based in San Francisco. TaskRabbit is an intermediary that helps users find local people they can hire to pick up groceries or weed the garden, Fargo says. Rewarder allows members to tap into a global pool of expertise, he says.
“About 75 percent of our rewards have no local component at all,’’ Fargo says. He prefers to compare Rewarder with the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, where people chip in money to support artists or entrepreneurs whose work they admire.
“Those are projects around shared passions,’’ Fargo says.
Fans have described Rewarder as “a reverse eBay,’’ a treasure hunt, or a “voyeuristic journey of what people are willing to pay for,’’ Fargo says. “I think we’re in a category of our own,’’ he says.
Hollenbeck, the venture investor, agrees. He says the successful search for his motorcycle part made him more confident that Rewarder would be a good investment. “It just provided a concrete example that the knowledge I needed was out there,” Hollenbeck says. “It works , and it works quickly.”
Rewarder’s nine employees now occupy rented digs on Market Street, on the borders of San Francisco’s financial district near the original site of Fargo’s prior successful startup, StepUp Commerce. His new social marketplace site is hiring, and Fargo is hoping to have a million users a year from now. With more users, problems will be solved more quickly, and more rewards will be offered to a community with a wider range of expertise, he says.
“Once you get to a million, it really takes on a life of its own,’’ Fargo says.


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Bangkok is soaring as the most visited city in the world for the second consecutive year, according to the Mastercard Destination Cities Index. The capital of Thailand has transformed into a megacity, a status confirmed by plans for large-scale urban redevelopment and massive infrastructure projects.
However, what exactly is a megacity and how does Bangkok compare with other global urban conglomerations? Those questions and many others will be addressed at the 2018 Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF), the country’s biggest annual hotel event. The 2018 TTF spotlight will shine on Bangkok and look at what is on the horizon for the Big Mango. Speakers from some of the largest Thai conglomerates will address the TTF about Bangkok’s future push into new districts and the reinvention of older CBD areas.
QUO CEO David Keen will be moderating a TTF panel discussion about Bangkok’s brand and how the new economy will shape perceptions of the city. David will be getting the opinions of some highly respected names in the local hotel and development industries including Ingo Schweder, CEO at GOCO Hospitality; Thomas Schmelter, IHG Group’s Director of Operations for Thailand & Indochina; and Cobby Leathers, Head of International Business for Sansiri PCL.
Organised by the American Chamber of Commerce, TTF 2018 is a unique opportunity to hear Thailand’s hotel and hospitality heavyweights candidly discuss the economy, growth and other issues affecting tourism. Attendance at TTF is complimentary but advanced registration is required.
Date: Monday, 22 January 2018
Venue: Grand Ballroom, Level 4, InterContinental Hotel, Bangkok.
Registration: Send an email to TTF@amchamthailand.com or visit AMCHAM website
For more information and to register, go to www.ThailandTourismForum.com


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Getty ImagesPremier League champions-elect Liverpool have agreed a short-term extension of their kit deal with New Balance until the end of the restructured 2019/20 season. New Balance was set to be replaced by US sportswear rival Nike on 1st June but the Boston-based company’s contract will now run until 31st July as a result of the Premier League’s suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The deal ensures that Liverpool will lift the Premier League trophy wearing New Balance kit should they secure the six points needed to win the title. Bournemouth call time on ‘UK£5m a year’ M88 shirt sponsorship dealThe short-term agreement with New Balance means the start of Liverpool’s contract with Nike, whose long-rumoured deal with the top-flight English soccer club was finally confirmed in January, will be delayed until 1st August. Confirming the move in a statement, Liverpool said: ‘It has been mutually agreed with New Balance, the club and incoming kit supplier Nike that the deal, which was due to come to an end on 31st May, 2020, will be extended due to the Premier League being suspended as a result of Covid-19. ’Liverpool’s incoming partnership with Nike guarantees the Merseyside club a reported UK£30 million (US$37.
Read more at:


text: Halo: Reach is now playable on PC... for a handful of very early adopters. Microsoft and 343 Industries have shared a slew of Master Chief Collection update news, including word that it has started a public test of Reach on Windows PCs that lasts through July 1st. Don't get your hopes up for joining in this round, though. There are less than 1,000 Halo Insiders involved, and they're playing just one campaign mission. The developers plan to invite more people "over time," though, so you can consider this the start of a much larger test experience.


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Another local automobile legend has died. Bob Brown, Senior, died last night at the age of 91. Brown's name heads four dealerships in the Des Moines metro. The funeral home website offers this obituary on his life.
It was just last October that another dean of the auto business died. Charles Gabus owned Ford, Kia, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Toyota dealerships in the metro. He was 90.


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amature cams sex - Printemps france online dating
The store was designed by noted architects Jules and Paul Sédille and opened at the corner of Le Havre and Boulevard Haussmann, in Paris, France on 3 November 1865.The building was greatly expanded in 1874, and elevators (then a great novelty) from the 1867 Universal Exposition were installed.
Ever bumped into someone in the street or glanced at someone in a café and wished you had the courage to approach them?
Well if that's you, the chances are you might be interested in Happn, a French dating app that gives users the chance of turning a one-off everyday encounter into a romance.
Peter Laguionie, son of Gustave took the helm of the store in 1920, rebuilding it after another large fire in 1921.
In 1931, Printemps created the discount chain Prisunic.
They could then scroll through their virtual timeline back to the point they crossed paths and then get the relationship moving by “liking” the other person’s profiles.
Those who pay the premium package and have a real crush on the person can even send charms.
The French start up, which is now serving singles in 25 cities around the world, has just announced it has raised another €12.5 million in funding, on top of the €8 million it raised in February, meaning over €20 million in less than a year.
That counts as a record for a French start up and founder Didier Rappaport says the money will help them conquer new markets.
For us it’s all base on everyday encounters,” Marie said.


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Credit Counsellors in Ontario are having a Turf War.
Archive for January, 2012
BC Bankruptcy Exemptions Reinstated.
Insolvencies decline by 12.2% in October, 2011
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) today (January 10, 2012) issued a Consumer Alert on debt reduction companies. FCAC is warning Canadians: Be very cautious about companies that claim they can negotiate a deal with your creditors so that you will have to pay only part of your debt. This process is often called [...]


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It’s no longer a question of “if”, but “when” you will face an online attack
Convinced your data is secure because you’re using a phrase password from your favorite book or movie, something like, “Call me Ishmael?” Think again! Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin reports:
For the first time, the freely available password cracker ocl-Hashcat-plus is able to tackle passcodes with as many as 55 characters. It’s an improvement that comes as more and more people are relying on long passcodes and phrases to protect their website accounts and other online assets.
That’s right, a free program that’s able to crack passwords far more complex than all but the most hardcore among us are using. It’s enough to give any IT department nightmares, and the crisis management implications are massive. Organizations everywhere are still struggling to move employees away from easy to guess passwords like “1234,” birthdays, last names, and yes, “password” (still ranked in the top 10 of most commonly used passwords), and suggesting users make their password an easy-to-remember phrase has become commonplace for many.
Of course, hackers are still miles ahead of the average user, and they’ve quickly learned to adapt, as this quote from the same Ars Technica article explains:
As leaked lists of real-world passwords proliferate, many people have turned to passwords and passphrases dozens of characters long in hopes of staying ahead of the latest cracking techniques. Crackers have responded by expanding the dictionaries they maintain to include phrases and word combinations found in the Bible, common literature, and in online discussions. For instance, independent password researcher Kevin Young recently decoded one particularly stubborn hash as the cryptographic representation of “thereisnofatebutwhatwemake.”
We said the crisis management implications are massive, but what are they exactly? Basically, you must assume that, at some point, your systems WILL be compromised. Whether it’s a CEO allowing a trojan through by clicking a bad link, an intern being duped vua social engineering over the phone or an advanced password cracking program forcing a way in, odds are that if you have data someone wants, you’re going to face a hacking scare at some point within the next few years.
You can, and certainly should, put up strong defenses, but it’s critical that you also design and implement a crisis management plan for hack attacks that includes these three key items:
- Prevention training for employees.
- Messaging to deliver to concerned stakeholders.
- Methods and resources to repel the attackers and resecure your systems.
It’s becoming more and more evident that we simply can not stop every cyber attack, but what we can do is bounce back as quickly as possible. The better you plan, and the more you train, the faster you’ll be able to return to business as usual.
The BCM Blogging Team


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Celebrate National Pizza Day At These Local San Francisco Restaurants
When it comes to pizza in San Francisco, there is no shortage of options available to diners. San Francisco has experienced a boom when it comes to Detroit-style concepts and most Italian concepts have some version of pizza available to diners, but I am a fan of the old-school and classic places. Despite all the…
NEWS: Carnival Cruise Line celebrates 25 years of sailing from Tampa
Carnival Cruise Line celebrated 25 years of sailing from Tampa on November 10th.
NEWS: Busch Gardens Christmas Town returns to Tampa November 16th
Busch Gardens Christmas Town will return to Tampa on Saturday, November 16th, 2019.
Riding the Cross-Bay Ferry from Tampa to St. Petersburg
I had the pleasure of riding The Cross-Bay Ferry this past weekend from Downtown Tampa to Downtown St. Petersburg. It is perhaps the most innovative transportation solution I have witnessed in the Tampa Bay area and much needed. The price is fair at $8 one-way for adults ($5 with student ID, military ID, or seniors)…
Should Michelin stars matter anymore?
Last week food media buzzed about Los Angeles and California finally getting a Michelin guide after Michelin infamously said in the past that LA did not have “real foodies”. LA was finally getting its due according to the chatter and proving the national food elites wrong. This week all that hype and media attention redirected…
Daffodil Bar at The Orchard Hotel San Francisco
I have a deep love for hotel bars. Usually there is a relaxing environment to them that still speaks elegance and many times quality bartenders find themselves there enjoying a bit of a relief from busy nightclubs and dive bars. Daffodil restaurant bar inside The Orchard Hotel San Francisco and located just minutes from Union…
Cigar City Brewing at TPA in running for Best Local Dining award by USA Today
USA Today‘s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards currently has Cigar City Brewing at TPA (Tampa International Airport) in the running for two categories: Best Airport Bar/Restaurant Atmosphere and Best Airport Bar. Cigar City Brewing opened last year in the Airside C of Tampa International Airport and is serving and brewing local craft beer to airport visitors…
10 food destinations to visit for a 24-hour trip to San Francisco
San Francisco is packed with thousands of restaurants and cafes to visit. It’s hard to filter through all of it and really it is all about knowing where to go without getting caught up by the hype. Here are my recommendations on food destinations to visit for a 24-hour trip to San Francisco. No. 1…
Busch Gardens Christmas Town happening now
Are you feeling the holiday spirit? It’s 67 degrees today in Tampa and I am already sipping on an eggnog latte. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will bring back their annual Christmas Town series starting this Saturday, November 17th.
100+ restaurants participating in Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month 2018
Taking a trip to Orlando soon? Something delicious is cooking in “The Theme Park Capital of the World”. Prepare to enjoy some serious dining deals for Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month. 100+ restaurant will be offering three course prix-fixe meals for $35 per person. The restaurant month is sponsored by American Express and will run…


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Photos of Noble Igwe and His Stunning Bride-to-be
Media personality and founder of 360Nobs, Noble Igwe, will be marrying his woman, Chioma Otisi in a traditional wedding today March 28th in Abriba, Abia state. Their white wedding is June 11th. Congrats to them.
Noble proposed in December with a sparkler – the same jewelry brand also designed ‘ engagement ring.
More photos after the cut....


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Ardagh Group showcases Innovation and Sustainability at BrauBeviale 2018
Ardagh Group continues to place its innovation and sustainability pillars at the forefront of its mission to meet consumers’ growing demand for brand-enhancing and sustainable metal and glass packaging.
From its metal business, visitors can experience Ardagh’s award-winning, textured and embossed innovations in aluminium and steel can coating. Innovations on display include Ardagh’s thermochromic effect ‘Reveal Impact’ which unveils a hidden message or image as the beverage can’s temperature changes.
From its glass business, the design team will give visitors a first-hand demonstration of its industry-leading ‘Sculptured Embossing’ technology, creating textured design effects such as frosting, water ripples, woodgrain, and citrus peel in glass, as well as giving ultra-high definition and lifelike detail to brand icons – something not possible with conventional embossing.
Both glass and metal are Permanent Materials, which means they are infinitely recyclable without any loss of quality and, as such, form part of a Circular Economy – a key driver in the elimination of the planet’s waste.
Ardagh continues to support higher recycling rates through industry initiatives such as Every Can Counts and Glass Guardians and is proud of its industry-leading performance in sustainability, which is reflected in being awarded a Gold rating by EcoVadis for the third consecutive year.
Visit Ardagh Group at BrauBeviale: Stand 223, Hall 4a.
08 October 2018


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If you’re an ad-supported publisher but haven’t built an audience, you’re in deep trouble, says L2’s Professor Scott Galloway in one his latest video broadcasts.
For those unfamiliar with Galloway’s work, his reputation marks him out. A Professor at the NYU Stern School of Business where he teaches brand strategy and digital marketing, Galloway has served on the board of The New York Times amongst others. His member-based business intelligence firm, L2 Inc., benchmarks the global digital performance of brands in eleven industry sectors, including publishing.
In one of his most recent videos, Galloway lauds the New York Times for its publishing strategy that saw its share price leap 41% last year, thanks in part to its huge subscriber growth which crossed 1 billion dollars and accounts for 60% of total revenue. As Galloway says, “The Times isn’t only making content that people want to pay for, it’s making people pay for the content they want“.
By contrast, Galloway compares the NYT’s figures with those of BuzzFeed whose unique visitors are declining causing them to miss revenue targets and cut staff.
His conclusion? Media firms with an audience are winning, whilst those with just traffic are losing.
Galloway’s video can be viewed in full below:


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By Rady Ananda
On July 16, the US Food and Drug Administration posted a libelous release linking a foodborne pathogen to a South Carolina raw dairy before confirming whether or not such a link existed. Two weeks later, the FDA determined that Tucker Adkins Dairy products were free of all contaminants but has still not issued a retraction at its webpage.
“How do we get our reputation back?” That’s what Tommy and Carolyn Adkins asked the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. (FTCLDF)
Without a retraction at the web page, they can’t.
Posted in Art, Books, Music & Film, Big Pharma, Constitution, Environment, FDA, USDA, Food & Farming, Genetic Engineering, Human Rights Civil Liberties, Resistance
Tagged 2A, Big Pharma, biotechnology, Books, CAFOs, codex, corpogov, courts - justice system, Environment, factory farms, fda, Food Criminalization, food raid, food theft, Genetically Engineered Food, Health Foods, healthy family farms, howard zinn, rawesome raid, Second Amendment, sharon palmer, tucker adkins dairy
By Rady Ananda
Another armed food raid – this time on a company that provides nutritional supplements primarily for autism spectrum disorders and Alzheimer’s disease – another day under the Food Safety Modernization Act. As predicted, the FSMA is turning out to be a deliberate plan to wipe out small (under a million dollars a year in sales) and medium-sized (under $10 million a year) producers of natural, wholesome food and supplements. This is what happens when corporations run governments.
The concept of “food safety” in corpogov-speak is really just food fascism, according to Vandana Shiva:
“Risk Assessment in the hands of centralized corruptible agencies is no protection for consumers as the disease and health epidemic in the U.S. linked to over processed, industrial foods show. Even while the U.S. is at the epicenter of the food related public health crises, the U.S. government is trying to export its Food laws which deregulate the industry and over regulate ordinary citizens and small enterprise. This deregulation of the big and toxic and over regulation of the small and ecological is at the core of Food Fascism.” [emphasis added]
Small scale producers of meat, raw dairy and veggies, and dietary supplements are under continual attack by food giants who have placed their former employees in positions of power and authority.
Posted in Big Pharma, FDA, USDA, Food & Farming
Tagged Big Pharma, class war, corpogov, decoster eggs, Diana DeGette, factory farms, fda, fda raid, food control, Food Criminalization, food freedom, food legislation, food raids, food safety modernization act, fsma, haccp, Maxam Nutraceutics, rawesome raid


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Key insights from Customer Experience Live Show UK 2023.
London, UK – 27 September, 2023 – In a bid to enable organisations across the United Kingdom with future-facing digital CX strategies that pave the way for industry leadership, the region’s leading Customer Experience Live Show UK 2023 was hosted at the Hilton Syon Park, London on 26-27 September 2023. This pivotal conference was complemented by the release of the insightful 'Customer Experience Live Intelligence Report 2023', a comprehensive source of insights into the evolving landscape of customer-centric strategies.
A noteworthy trend illuminated in the report reveals a growing commitment amongst UK companies to bolster their investments in customer journey mapping. Recognised as a valuable tool, customer journey mapping is being increasingly harnessed to enhance customer satisfaction, boost revenue, reduce operational costs, and refine decision-making processes. Scott Rolph, Global Head of Data Quality and Inventory Transformation of the BT Group reiterated the growing importance of customer journey mapping stating, “We firmly believe that the customer journey sits at the heart of what we do, forming the compass that guides us toward unparalleled customer satisfaction, sustained growth, and operational excellence.”
Statistics highlighted a staggering 68% of companies are ramping up their investment in customer journey mapping. Additionally, 62% of companies are re-evaluating Voice of Customer (VoC), 53% are re-visiting AI strategies, and 40% are actively enhancing their CRM systems.
Along with shedding light on the key solutions organisations in the region would be prioritising in 2024, the report also provided insights into the expected timeline and budget allocation for their deployment. 60% of companies in the region are set to make investments in CX solutions within one year and 62% are likely to see an increase in investment towards Digital Experience technology. Clearly, a growing number of enterprises believe that good CX is the cornerstone of strong corporate performance. According to Matt Roberts, Business Intelligence Director of Formula E, “In today's fast-paced world, prioritising customer experience is a fundamental aspect of success. The value of CX lies in the connections it forges, the emotions it elicits, and the loyalty it cultivates. For Formula E, it isn't just a competitive edge; but the foundation of sustained growth and excellence."
In its 2023 edition, the Customer Experience Live Show UK focussed on the business of experience and the importance of leveraging intelligent analytics all the way from product design to delivery. Attending organisations gained deep insights into the latest trends, strategies, and technologies driving the future of customer experience. As companies across the UK continue to prioritise customer-centricity, these revelations are expected to guide their actions and decisions in the coming year. Ayusha Tyagi, Managing Director of Customer Experience Live, encapsulated the event's essence, stating, "In today's dynamic landscape, understanding and fulfilling customer needs is paramount. The synergy of intelligent analytics and customer-centric strategies are the compass guiding us towards a future where customer satisfaction and enriching experience lie at the heart of every interaction."
Sponsored by Verint, Zoom, Zendesk, iSON Xperiences, Cyara, and ForgeRock, the Customer Experience Live Show UK 2023 brought together a diverse array of industry experts, thought leaders, and decision-makers, all eager to benchmark the latest trends and strategies shaping the future of customer experience in the UK. Thought-provoking perspectives were shared by BP, HSBC, GSK, Taj Hotels, Aramex, Centrica, Cushman & Wakefield, and Diageo amongst others, providing invaluable insights into the accelerating digital CX transformation.
The Customer Experience Live Global Awards 2023, held on 27 September at the event, honoured prominent organisations that are at the forefront of industry excellence, including Sky UK, Close Brothers Group, ALTANFEETHI, Asda, Etihad Airways, North Bristol NHS Trust, Formula E, Riyadh Airports Company, BT Group, Petromin, and Verint.
For a comprehensive exploration of the 'Customer Experience Live Intelligence Report 2023’, please visit www.customer-experience.live.
Press release published by Customer Experience Live, on Thursday 28 September, 2023.


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LOS ANGELES – The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund announced a class-action lawsuit against several Southern California car washes for noncompliance with labor laws.
“We ask for a court order against these businesses to stop their noncompliance with labor laws,” MALDEF National Senior Counsel Victor Viramontes told Efe.
“We also demand that these companies pay their workers the wages they owe them and that they also pay the corresponding fines for noncompliance,” he said.
The attorney said that if they win the suit, each car wash employee should also receive $4,000 for having received false information on their pay slips.
“We workers are organized and we’re not going to allow business owners to continue exploiting us they way they have up to now,” Pedro Cruz, one of the plaintiffs who attended the press conference outside a Santa Monica car wash targeted by the suit, said.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants systematically use abusive labor practices against their mainly Hispanic workforce.
Viramontes said that since this is a class-action suit, any worker in this kind of company who has been the victim of labor-law noncompliance in the last four years can join in the legal action.
“We are here to send a message that you cannot continue to act this way,” said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.
The suit – filed against the owners of Santa Monica Car Wash and Detailing, Millennium Car Wash and Bumble Bee Car Wash – alleges that these firms pay no overtime, do not allow workers any rest breaks during the day or time off for lunch as the law requires, and give employees pay stubs with incorrect information, among other violations.
Investigations into such irregularities have been pursued by the CLEAN Carwash campaign, a coalition of close to 30 Los Angeles organizations backed by the AFL-CIO.
Low-paid workers in Los Angeles County are shortchanged an estimated $26 million from their weekly wages, according to figures from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.
According to the CLEAN campaign, more than 85 percent of car-wash employees in California are Hispanics. Other abuses uncovered by CLEAN include workers having to spend their own money to buy equipment they need on the job like gloves and boots.
When summer begins, the volume of work in car washes increases and the hours are longer, making it a time of year when workers are more likely to be exploited, the CLEAN campaign said Tuesday. EFE


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To no one's surprise, Netflix made the decision to bring back beloved sci-fi series Stranger Things for a fourth season. Each installment of the series has been a monster hit for the streaming service, and this summer's Season 3 ended with a massive cliffhanger regarding the fate of fan-favorite character Jim Hopper, so a Season 4 order was definitely in the cards. Netflix made the fourth installment official earlier this month, though it will likely be more than a year before we see Stranger Things return. When will we learn more about what's in store for the future of Stranger Things? Probably not for a while, but a recent tweet from Netflix has fans hoping some news might be coming next week.
The See What's Next Twitter account, one of the many accounts run by Netflix, shared a blooper from the recent third season of Stranger Things. The video shows David Harbour struggling to get through a scene with Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown without laughing. However, it's not the video that has piqued people's interest, but the text of the tweet itself.
"If you like this blooper from Stranger Things Season 3 just wait until you see what Stranger Things has in store for you on November 6," reads the tweet."
Of course, a lot of folks are hoping that this will be some kind of news drop about Stranger Things Season 4, such as a release window or story tease. Don't get too excited, though, as this is probably something way simpler.
The Twitter account for the Stranger Things writers room has been talking about the Season 3 blooper reel for some time, saying that it would unveil a blooper if it was followed by 500,000 people. Just after that happened, the video of the Harbour blooper was posted by the account, along with a tease that more were on the way.
There's a more than solid chance that whatever happens on November 6th is related to the previous season. Let's be honest, it's probably the full blooper reel, which is something fans have been asking for. Just don't get too excited thinking there could be something more on the way.
What do you think the big Stranger Things surprise is? Let us know in the comments!


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Samsung Galaxy S3 has finally arrived in Europe after the South Korean company officially launched the device on Tuesday. The release enables the smartphone maker to get ahead of its rival iPhone which will be placed on the market later this year, says Reuters.
28 European and Middle East countries including Germany and Britain are now in possession of the new smartphone called Samsung Galaxy S3. The device was available for testing since last week, but it was only on Tuesday that customers were able to purchase it. The release date was carefully chosen for the South Korean company to determine as many customers as possible to purchase it before the new iPhone will be released later this year. If everything works according to their plan, Samsung will thus, manage to outsell Apple.
People in Berlin were very anxious to get their hands on the new S3. Around 50 customers spent the Monday night outside the BASE mobile phone shop in Berlin to be the first to purchase it. This reaction pleased Samsung’s chief executives because people used to queue only for Apple releases, but now they seem to be more interested in Samsung products.
The smartphone is slightly bigger than its predecessor, Samsung Galaxy S2, but skeptics think this could be a disadvantage. However, the specifications of the new smartphone will most likely convince customers that the device is worth all the money. The quad core processor enables owners to get involved in multi-tasking activities and the 4.8-inch screen is perfect for multimedia files. The smartphone runs on Google’s Android just like the previous device.
Judging by the number of pre-orders that have been registered in stores across the world, analysts estimate that Samsung Galaxy S3 will be a lot more popular than its predecessor. They expect the new smartphone to top Galaxy S2’s $20 million record of worldwide sales. A spokesperson for Vodafone UK told reporters that this is the most pre-ordered Android that their store has had in the past two years.
Francisco Jeronimo, an IDC analyst based in London told reporters that the Galaxy S3 could be the most challenging competitor for the new iPhone. He also stated that this could become the most sold item of the year.


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APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com) — The Apple Valley Police Department is searching for a man who allegedly used a cell phone to take upskirt photos of two women shopping.
It happened on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Target located at 19201 Bear Valley Road in the Town of Apple Valley.
According to a sheriff’s news release, at about 5:30 pm, an unknown White Male Adult entered the business and used his phone to secretly photograph the undergarments of two females, one of whom was wearing a dress.
“After the incident the male fled the store through the parking lot to an unknown vehicle,” stated the release.
At the time of the incident, the suspect was wearing a maroon ‘trap star’ t-shirt, gray pants, and black shoes with red laces. He’s described as 5’11, 140 lbs., medium-length brown hair with a mustache and goatee; also likely wearing prescription glasses.
Officials said the incident was captured on Target’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) system.
If you have any information regarding this suspect you are asked to contact Deputy J. Rollins with the Apple Valley Police Department at (760)240-7400 and reference case #181902239.To follow updates to this article and more, join our newsgroup on Facebook with over 165,000 members. Like our Facebook page, and Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
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The Washington State Dept. of Agriculture (WSDA) announced on Jan. 17, 2013, that it had identified a possible case of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a dairy cow that arrived at a Washington meat packing facility on Jan. 8, 2013. The animal originated at a dairy farm near Moses Lake, Washington, and was among a number of animals that had been purchased from a dairy near Monroe, Washington, in January 2012. Since WSDA’s initial announcement on Jan. 17, the following steps have been taken:
Manure. Cows produce a lot of it. And for a long time, finding something useful to do with it was a challenge. But technological innovation on Washington’s dairy farms is increasingly turning what some saw as a problem into what many now recognize is an asset that has value – for dairy farmers and the entire community.
Russ Davis wants more cow manure. He’s the president of Organix, a Walla Walla based company, with production facilities in Yakima County that specialize in converting cow manure into compost.
“We look for dairies that like to export their manure,” explained Davis, who works with several Yakima Valley dairies. “Dairies have their own manure management plans, whether it’s turning manure into cow bedding or using it to fertilize their crops. So that reduces the availability.”
When western Washington grocery shoppers buy a gallon of milk, they may not realize that a group of soccer players had a big part in bringing that milk to market.
A few years ago, Jesus “Chuy” Gonzalez, calf manager on the deVries Family Dairy in Moxee (about two hours from Seattle), was kicking around a soccer ball during his lunch break. Soon that grew to nearly half of his co-workers playing soccer daily on the large lawn in front the dairy’s office.
Greek yogurt has seen a meteoric rise in sales and popularity in the last 5 years, but where did it come from and what exactly is it? The term ‘Greek yogurt’ is in itself slightly misleading as this particular form of yogurt is present all over the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East – Greece being only one area that has made this type of yogurt a staple in their diet.
To obtain its thick consistency, the yogurt is strained repeatedly to remove the whey, lactose, and sugars resulting in a thick “avocado-like” consistency that is both smooth and rich.
Cheese is becoming quite the industry in Washington state, with the first annual Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival held in April followed by the Seattle Cheese Festival at Pike Place Market in May. The festivals were held to celebrate Washington’s delicious and diverse cheeses and to promote the farmers, cheese makers, retailers and chefs who bring them to our tables.


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Huawei introduced the foldable smartphone, Mate X, at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, and later this month, the company is all set to launch the P30-series smartphones in Paris. However, these aren t the only devices the company is working on. Huawei has released a teaser that highlights the selfie camera details of the upcoming Nova-series smartphone. Also Read - Huawei P50, P50 Pro with OLED display, HarmonyOS launched: Price, featuresAlso Read - Huawei Band 6 launched to take on Mi Band 5, brings SpO2 monitor at budget
The teaser in question here (spotted by FoneArena) is of the Nova 4e, which is expected to be unveiled sometime later this month. Successor to the Nova 4, the new smartphone will come with a waterdrop-style notch rather than going for a hole punch display. This notch will house a 32-megapixel selfie snapper, and it will also come with AI beauty mode. Also Read - Jio 5G service: Reliance Jio, Intel partner to develop 5G network for India
The Huawei Nova 4e was also recently certified by TENAA, which has revealed some of its specifications, features and photos that reveal the design. The smartphone will carry model number MAR-TL00 / MAR-AL00. Powered by a Kirin 710 SoC, the smartphone will feature a 6.15-inch display, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a triple rear camera setup. However, there is no word on the amount of RAM, onboard storage or further details about the rear camera resolution.
Watch: Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review
Based on the photos shared by TENAA, we can see that that smartphone will come with an edge-to-edge display with a thin chin at the bottom. Featuring a metal frame, the smartphone will come with front and back glass. The power button and volume rocker is on the right, whereas a 3.5mm audio jack can be seen at the bottom.
As of now, there is no word on the launch date, and expected pricing of the smartphone. However, considering that it has been certified by TENAA, means that the launch may not be far off. We expect to learn more in the coming weeks.


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Early last month, Spotify threatened to exit Uruguay unless lawmakers modified a planned copyright law overhaul. Now, in the absence of these changes, the streaming service says it’s set to begin winding down in the nation of 3.5 million residents.
Spotify just recently disclosed its plans to withdraw from Uruguay, where the relevant law is expected to go into effect on January 1st, kicking off negotiations between rightsholders and impacted internet platforms on implementation specifics.
As described by local media, the relevant copyright alterations have added said internet platforms, among them Spotify, to the list of mediums from which creators and rightsholders can seek remuneration for the use of their works.
Proponents of the measure have billed the pivot as a simple transfer of global revenue to domestic professionals. Unsurprisingly, though, Spotify doesn’t feel the same and has emphasized its position that the switch would, among other things, disrupt existing licensing deals and render overlapping payments the norm.
But the stance and more in-depth criticism, expressed to lawmakers and government officials in letters, evidently failed to bring about the desired result for Spotify. And it’s against this backdrop that the company says it’s prepping a January 1st winddown in Uruguay ahead of a full-scale shutdown before February.
“Spotify already pays nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music to the record labels and publishers that own the rights for music, and represent and pay artists and songwriters,” the company relayed in a formal statement. “Any additional payments would make our business untenable.
“Spotify wishes to continue giving artists the opportunity to connect with listeners, and Uruguayan fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by their music,” proceeded the platform. “Changes that could force Spotify to pay twice for the same music would make our business of connecting artists and fans unsustainable, and regrettably leaves us no choice but to stop being available in Uruguay.
“Without urgently-needed clarity on the changes to music copyright laws included in the 2023 Rendición de Cuentas [Accountability] law, Spotify will, unfortunately, begin to phase out its service in Uruguay effective January 1, 2024. Spotify will be completely unavailable in Uruguay by February, 2024.”
Of course, time will tell whether the coming six weeks bring about the developments sought by Spotify. But according to El Observador, at least one of the lawmakers behind the relevant measures, uninclined to backtrack amid discussions about implementation details, has criticized Spotify’s description of the articles at hand.
Meanwhile, Uruguay’s president, Luis Lacalle Pou, had been preparing to depart on an international trip when Spotify requested a meeting last week, per a different report from the same outlet. Consequently, the executive office hasn’t yet responded to the corresponding letter, El Observador indicated today.


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Snapdragon 855 is Qualcomm's next flagship mobile platform built for 5G
Intel will not have 5G-capable chips ready in time for the commercial production of smartphones in 2019, per the report . The company has also added a dedicated computer vision processor for intelligent cameras.
Putin arrives at G20 after Trump talks cancelled
China has aimed tariffs at industries perceived to extract the greatest impact on industries that tend to favor Trump. Chinese manufactured products account for 61.6% of the consumer electronics imported into America.
Google Pixel 3 lite photographed next to original Pixel, several iPhones
Russian site Wylsa has compared the Pixel 3 Lite against a number of handsets, including the Pixel 3 XL , the iPhone XR and more. There's also the accented power button on the side which looks to be coloured Yellow on the white variant of the Pixel 3 Lite .
Agree to temporary truce on new auto tariffs
The meeting will also be a test of the personal chemistry between the two leaders, which Trump has hailed as a warm friendship. U.S. president on Saturday agreed to not raise the tariff rate on goods imported from China , the White House announced .
China trade vow after Trump talks helps settle financial markets
She now faces a bond hearing Friday, pending possible extradition to the United States to face criminal charges. China didn't announce a commitment to cut tariffs on American cars, a policy Trump disclosed on Twitter.
TMZ releases video of Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt attacking a woman
He was not charged by prosecutors, but one police report listed Hunt as a suspect while another one listed Ottinger as a suspect. Through body-cam footage obtained by TMZ , the woman and witnesses gave differing accounts of what escalated the incident.
Jose Mourinho labels Paul Pogba a 'virus' in dressing room row
Pogba starting the game after being dropped against Young Boys in the Champions League midweek, however, he didn't look up to it. And Rashford set up Herrera for a gorgeous back leg finish with a powerful run into the right side of the box.
Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress
The document does not identify Individual 2, but people familiar with the investigation said it is Sater. These new charges come with a maximum possible sentence of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Cardinals stun fading Packers for 20-17 win at Lambeau
The Packers hadn't lost a game straight-up as a favorite of at least 13.5 points in at least 40 years ... until Sunday. McCarthy was the only one who remained, as he was given one more season, but it turned out to be an absolute disaster.
Urban Meyer Will Retire From Ohio State After Rose Bowl
Meyer lied to reporters at Big Ten Media Day about what he did and didn't know about the abuse of Smith's wife Courtney. Think of everything that had to happen for Meyer to end up at Ohio State. "But I'm prepared and ready for the task".